The history of the United States is full of the names of heroes. They stand out like the stars on our flag. It is not our purpose to boast. The world has had its heroes in all times and countries. But our land holds a high rank among heroic nations, and deeds of gallant daring have been done by Americans which no men upon the earth have surpassed.

This book is the record of our heroes of the sea, of the men who have fought bravely upon the ocean for the honor of the Stars and Stripes, the noble tars who have carried their country's fame over all waters and through all wars. Look at Paul Jones, the most gallant sailor who ever trod deck! He was not born on our soil, but he was a true-blue American for all that. Look at Perry, rowing from ship to ship amid the rain of British shot and shell! Look at Farragut in the Civil War, facing death in the rigging that he might see the enemy! Look at Dewey in the war with Spain, on the bridge amid the hurtling Spanish shells! These are but types of our gallant sailors. They have had their equals in every war. We have hundreds to-day as brave. All they wait for is opportunity. When the time comes they will be ready.

If all our history is an inspiration, our naval history is specially so. It is full of thrilling tales, stories of desperate deeds and noble valor which no work of fiction can surpass. We are sure that all who take up this book will find it vital with interest and brimming with inspiration. Its tales deal with men who fought for their land with only a plank between them and death, and none among us can read the story of their deeds without a thrill in the nerves and a stir in the heart, and without a wish that sometime they may be able to do as much for the land that gave them birth. This is a book for the American boy to read, and the American girl as well; a book to fill them with the spirit of emulation and make them resolve that when the time comes they will act their part bravely in the perilous work of the world.